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Tag Archives: Washington Huskies

My alma mater, the University of Washington Huskies, got left
out of the Big Dance. Even though they won the Pac-12 regular
season title, a couple of bad end-of-the-season losses, kept them
out of the March Madness NCAA tournament. They ended up being a #1
seed in the national Invitational Tournament (NIT).

These are 20 year olds. They were discouraged and upset about
not being selected to the NCAA tournament after winning their
conference. The NIT, though prestigious in history, was of little
consolation. It would have been very easy to walk out on the court
in the first game with a bad attitude and leftover baggage. That
would almost certainly lead to an even more embarrassing loss and a
terrible off-season.

On Tuesday, the Huskies defeated their arch nemesis Oregon to
advance to the NIT Final Four in Madison Square Garden in New York.
They won three games to earn that distinction. Now they will play
on national television in the Big Apple. No matter what happens,
this has been a success. They turned lemons into lemonade.

Give credit to the coaches for excellent leadership. Give credit
to the players for staying tough. And give credit to the fans for
sticking behind them. It was a team effort.

Hey…winning the NIT in New York would be really cool for these
kids and the University. Let’s support them. Go Dawgs!

The Pac-12 championship win by Colorado should actually bode
well for the Washington Huskies. Colorado earned its way into the
March Madness tournament with a close win over Arizona. The popular
thinking is that a maximum of two teams from the weak Pac-12
conference make it in. Here is my case for the Dawgs…

They are the Pac-12 regular season champs. Bad conference or
not, over the course of the season, they won it outright.

Cal didn’t make it to the championship game of the tourney,
either. Everyone said they were a lock, but an embarrassing loss to
Colorado may have changed that.

Arizona, who lost in the championship game, was beaten twice by
Washington head to head. If that doesn’t mean anything when looking
at tie-breakers, then something is wrong.

Nobody else has a claim.

I actually think you will see both Washington and Cal sneak in.
They may both have to play on the first weekend (or play in games).
Who cares, though? It’s about getting in. That being said, there is
cause to be a little nervous until your name pops up today. Stay
tuned!

The Huskies class looks pretty good. Now. The real test will
come over the next 2-3 years. It’s funny to look back over the
recruiting classes and see how guys actually turned out to be
stars. Of course, it’s all across the board.

I’m pleased with how my home team and alma mater did. Landing
Shaq Thompson, Jeff Lindquist and a few of the other guys whose
names I can’t quite remember now sets them up for a bright future.
In the end, however, it will all come down to execution on the
field. That comes from coaching, talent, and a bit of
serendipity.

The crazy thing is how many kids flipped back and forth in just
the past few days. Maybe reform is needed for the process, but I
don’t see it happening. As Steve Sarkisian said today at his press
conference, it boils down to finishing strong. Let’s hope that the
Dawgs finished strong with the right guys!

The Washington Huskies thrilling victory over the Arizona
Wildcats was one for the ages. The defending of their Pac-10
tournament championship sent the Dawgs back into the NCAA Big Dance
as a #7 seed against Georgia. Who knows what that seed would have
been if they had lost?

A couple of notes on the game…

1. I’ve been watching the Huskies basketball program since the
mid-1970’s and the James Edwards era. Isaiah Thomas’s performance
was the greatest individual effort I’ve ever seen. He played all 45
minutes (in fact he played every minute of the tourney thanks to
Venoy Overton’s suspension); he scored 18 points in the first half
when Matthew Bryan-Amening was blanked; he made the kept the team
in the game down the stretch, including the assist to send the game
into overtime; and then he sealed the deal with a fade-away jumper
to win the game as time ran out. A ridiculous game…

2. The two freshmen – C.J. Wilcox and Terrance Ross – came up
huge in the tournament and down the stretch in this game. They each
hit 3-pointers like veterans to get the Dawgs into OT. The future
is bright for this program.

3. Lorenzo Romar is a gamer coach. In other words, he makes all
the right moves at the key times for this team. That comes in very
handy come tournament time.

4. This team can get by Georgia, but the disappointing play down
the stretch puts them in a situation that if they do advance, they
will have to beat North Carolina, the #2 seed, to get back to the
Sweet 16. Hey, but this is March Madness, right?

Bottom line – that was gigantic win for the good guys. It showed
tremendous heart and character by players and coaches as all things
looked dark and ominous after the Venoy Overton calamity. That
shows great leadership both in coaching (Romar) and players
(Thomas). This was the kind of win that a team can build momentum
from. Who knows, maybe the best is yet to come…

Call me crazy. Call me a “homer.” Call me whatever you want. I
have a funny feeling about this one.

Just like in the Holiday Bowl with the Washington Huskies, Pete
Carroll and his boys are playing with house money. I feel a little
12th Man magic. It’s Buster Douglas over Mike Tyson; the New York
Giants over the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl; it’s
Washington over Nebraska…

It’s the Seahawks 24-23 over the Saints with an Olindo Mare FG
at the end….

Steve Sarkisian showed yesterday why college football is
different than pro football. In a similar situation, with 4th and 1
for the season, 2 seconds left in the game, and down by 3 points,
the pro coach kicks the tying field goal to go into overtime.
There’s little flexibility with jobs in the NFL. In college, it’s
different. Sark rolled the dice, trusted in his offensive line, QB,
and RB, and won what might turn into a landmark game for the
revitalized Washington Huskies.

The Husky win means next week’s Apple Cup game against WSU means
more than just state prode. It means a chance to go back to a bowl
game for the first time in 8 years. This proud program is starving
for it.

My favorite part of “The Call” was Sarkisian rallying the troops
on the sideline together. Everyone, the offense, the defense, the
special teams, and the last guy on the traveling squad, bought into
and was behind the call an the play. That’s leadership.

This will be a fun week leading up to what could be a tremendous
Apple Cup. Don’t get me wrong; I’d be happy with Washington blowing
the Cougars out early. I just don’t think that’s going to happen. I
see a close game in hostile territory for all the marbles of
post-season. Should be fun.

P.S. How about that Husky defense led by Mason Foster. Nick
Holt’s group has been widely criticized all year. However, when
they have been most need in the past two games, they’ve only
surrendered one touchdown and that was 7 quarters ago! They will
need a similar effort next week.

I apologize for being so long without posting. Life often gets
in the way of blogging, so I hope to improve.

A belated observation…

Last spring, if you would have told me that the cities of Dallas
and San Francisco would be embroiled in a sports championship
series, I would have bought that. The Dallas Cowboys and San
Francisco 49’ers were both pegged to be contenders for the Super
Bowl, and could likely face each other in an NFC Championship
game.

As it turns out, the San Francisco Giants and the Texas
(Dallas-based) Rangers squared off in the World Series. The
eventual champion Giants weren’t thought to be a playoff team, and
although the Rangers were, they had never been to a World Series
and their pitching was suspect. Turns out the Niners and Pokes were
suspect.

The Giants won their first World Series since transplanting to
the West Coast and the 49’ers are 2-6 after losing their first 5
games. The Rangers made their first World Series in franchise
history and the Cowboys are in shambles with only one win and the
loss of their QB.

Sports is strange. The Huskies and Seahawks lost by a combined
score of 74-3 over the weekend, which was tough here in Seattle. It
still beats being a Cowboys or 49’ers fan, though…

I know there are more onions than orchids to throw around this
weekend, but here are a few of the bright spots…

We can relax about worrying about Jake Locker’s run for the
Heisman Trophy. It ain’t gonna happen. It’s unlikely he will play
another team the caliber of Nebraska and this game will dog him for
the year when it comes to the Heisman. Maybe he can just relax and
play.

Pac-10 play starts next week and we are undefeated…

Golden Tate is a home run hitter for the Hawks. We need to get
the ball in his hands early and often.

In fact, our receivers played well in Denver. Nate Burleson had
one catch for 4 yards and Housh was shut out for the Ravens. I will
take Deion Butler, Deion Branch, Golden Tate, Ben Obamanu (TD
reception) and Mike Williams over them at this point.

The Hawks at least fought until the end. Last year, they
wilted. This year, they just didn’t execute well. If you turn the
ball over on the road against a team that hasn’t lost a home opener
in over 10 years, you will lose the game.

Matt Hasselbeck is still healthy after two games (last year
injured in Game 2).

The win against the 49ers made this game not as important as it
was for Denver. Being 0-1 and facing a brutal schedule the next 4
weeks, this was a “must-win” for them. The Seahawks have a tough
opponent at home next week (a game they can win), and ext
“must-win” for them comes at St. Louis in 2 weeks.

Follow me on Twitter on Sundays for my
opinions and commentary during the Seahawks games…

Coach Pete Carroll – OK…I’m IN big time. I read
your book, Win Forever and was impressed. Now I’m even more
impressed. I know there will be poor games and challenging times.
However, this team did not quit like it has the past two years.
That’s in part due to your leadership. Welcome back to the NFL.

Matt Hasselbeck – I keep telling people if we
surround you with talent at WR and RB, and give you time to throw,
you’re still an upper-level QB in this league. Who knew you could
still run? Tremendous leadership and the same passion that has made
you the best QB in franchise history.

Jordan Babineaux – After the ignominy of being
cut and re-signed for less money, you come back and make a pick and
several special teams tackles. Seemed like you were all over the
field. Welcome back to the team.

Seahawks O and D Lines – Kudos. Both were
glaring weaknesses last year. At least in this game, you kept #8 on
his feet, held Frank Gore to 38 yards, and pestered Alex Smith all
game long. If you can keep this play up all year, we will be
looking at more wins than we thought!

I missed the Huskies game…I had a charitable event to attend.
Here are my two heroes from reports…

While the V-Mac in Renton resembles a Chinese fire drill,
Montake won’t be pulling the emergency fire alarm.

The Seahawks continue to mold their 53-man roster, definitely
proving that they are in a rebuilding frame of mind. Julius Jones
must feel like the famous Mark Twain quote about the “reports of
his death being greatly exaggerated,” as the reports of his
dismissal from the team being erroneous. What isn’t wrong is that
he’s not the main man at running back anymore as that title goes to
Justin Forsett. He isn’t even the #2 guy undoubtedly, but he still
has a place on the squad. #6 pick Russell Okung won’t be playing on
Sunday as he is still injured. Matt Hasselbeck better have his rear
view mirror working as his blindside may be in danger. The most
interesting pickup for me this weekend was 337-pound offensive
guard Stacy Andrews. This guy could be a real help on what has been
a light offensive line that is being turned into a larger one.
Andrews may be the best acquisition of the several new faces.

The Huskies didn’t snap their nearly 2 year losing streak on the
road and sounded (no TV…really?) like they played an awful 2nd
half. But, not to jump to conclusions. BYU is a very solid team,
especially at home. This was no gimmie, in fact they were 3-point
underdogs going in. This week at home against Syracuse is a
different story. This is a “must-win” for a team looking to get to
a bowl game again. They must hold serve at home, particularly
against oponents that they are supposed to be better than. I expect
a different game and a different outcome.

Shame on me for having not blogged on the Seattle Storm most of
the year. As a former high school girls basketball coach, that is
inexcusable. The Storm have been the best team in the league and
proved it over again in the playoffs, as they reach their second
WNBA Finals. Yes, I know they don’t get quite the respect they
should in this town because the sport is not considered in the same
breath as the NFL, NBA, and MLB. The reality is that they brought
this city a professional championship a few years ago, there coach
is perhaps the best in the league, and they have three of the top
players in the league in Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird, and Swin Cash.
As they head into the finals, I will be spending more time covering
them and their quest to win their second title. Heck, I may even
need to find a ticket to the Finals. That may be our only
opportunity for a few years!